Postseason Fun

So the Cards made it into the postseason by the skin of the teeth. Ask the Padres if it makes them feel any better.

The Cards are in the NLCS for the third time in a row and the sixth time since Tony LaRussa took over as manager in 1996. Facing the tough Mets, though, is going to be a tall order, but there are encouraging signs from last night's 2-0 loss.

One is that Jeff Weaver kept them in the ballgame. I was afraid that the Mets, especially Carlos Delgado, would jump on him for a number of runs. But save the mistake he made to Carlos Beltran, he was darn good. If the Cardinals get starting pitching like that the rest of the series, they are going to surprise some people.

The bullpen is holding its own as well. Looper struggled some, but it was his return to New York (and he was lustily booed for it) and he hadn't pitched in a while. Add in the fact that he's probably not going to see crunch-time minutes and that isn't too concerning. Watching Johnson and Thompson getting outs is a good thing to see.

The Cards hit some balls hard last night, which, with their record of success against lefities this year, was surprising. They had some bad luck, so if that turns around and evens out, well, they have that going for them at least.

And Pujols is now 0-10 in his last three games. He tends to bust out of slumps, so if he starts hitting in the next game or so, watch out.

The Cardinals thrown Carpenter tonight, and it really is a must win for them, because they can't afford to lose any Carpenter starts and have a chance to win this. If they do win, though, they go back to St. Louis tied at 1 and have the advantage in most of the pitching matchups going forward. Should be fun to see what happens tonight.

Closer to home, it looks like I get my "day off" tomorrow as Meron and Benjamin are headed to the zoo in the morning with another mom and son from the mommy group Meron is in. I don't have any big plans, but it'll be nice to have some peace and quiet, even for just a few hours.

Last weekend, Meron went to the Women of Faith conference (and loved it), so I took care of the boy. We had a good time hanging out, playing, etc. It was the first time I've had him by myself for an extended time, and I was a little concerned about it, but it went over fine. We even went to the homecoming parade last Friday, and he loved seeing the fire trucks, horses, and bands.

His birthday is less than a month away, which is just hard to believe. Almost 2! Time really does fly by.

The URL starts its free agency period Monday. We moved it up due to various issues, and I think that'll help. Once we start getting players, we can start talking trades, seeing how the payrolls are going to look, etc. Should be a lot of fun.

Have a great weekend, everyone!